Rescuers evacuate a child from a flooded area after heavy rains in Suizhou, in China's central Hubei province
© AFPRescuers evacuate a child from a flooded area after heavy rains in Suizhou, in China's central Hubei province
21 killed and four reported missing after heavy downpours hit a township in central China's Hubei where Wuhan is the provincial capital city.

More than 8,000 residents have been affected and over 2,700 houses damaged.

Bad weather also destroyed 11.3 kilometers of roads, 63 bridges and 725 power and communication poles.

The township saw total precipitation reaching 503 millimeters in 12 hours causing an average waterlogging depth of 3.5 meters.



A new round of heavy rainfall has been affecting Hubei province since Aug. 8.

Suizhou, Xiangyang and Xiaogan, the three cities neigboring Wuhan are among the most severely hit, with more than 286,100 people affected.

Five water rescue teams with 173 commanders and 13 boats have been dispatched to aid those regions.

As of 12:00 on Aug 12, 7,216 people had taken emergency refuge and 5,943 people were relocated.

Local authorities activated a level-Ⅲ emergency response to floods in a four-tier system.

Torrential rains are expected to persist until Aug. 13 and may cause flooding and other geological disasters.

Disaster relief and rescue efforts are underway.